>> announcer: starting right now on abc's "this week" -- the year of trump. this morning, jon karl's exclusive face-to-face interview with the brash billionaire. on the heels of yet another controversy. this time, for that graphic slang. >> we shouldn't let anybody bully his way into the presidency. >> announcer: how donald trump shook up the campaign in 2015. >> did you, even you, think you would dominate the field the way you have? >> announcer: and what he's planning for the new year. plus, one-on-one with the one who's taking on donald trump like no other else. and as the year ends, a special look at a stunning year on the trail. plus, the big predictions about where the campaign is

heading in 2016. >> announcer: from abc news, "this week" with george stephanopoulos begins now. good morning. i'm jonathan karl. george and martha have the holiday off. if you weren't paying attention to presidential politics this holiday, we can't blame you. while most of the candidates have been quiet, donald trump used the holiday to go on a twitter tirade against rivals on both sides, tweeting, "remember when failed can't jeb bush said that illegals came across the border as an act of love? he spent $59 million and is at 3%." and overnight, tweeting, "hillary clinton has announced that she's letting her husband out to campaign but he's demonstrated a penchant for sexism, so inappropriate!" i have been covering trump's presidential ambitions from the start, all of the way back to 2013, when no one thought he would actually run and this morning, a look at the year of trump. our roundtable is standing by with their insights and we'll even ask a supreme court justice

what he thinks of trump's proposals. but first, we went on the trail this week for an exclusive interview with the man who has transformed the race for the white house. >> we are going to make america great again! i love you. i love you. thank you. >> reporter: as a presidential candidate donald trump turned the republican primary into a blockbusr. >> i will be the greatest jobs president that god ever created, i tell you that. >> reporter: we caught up with trump this week before a rally in michigan to talk about the year that was. and when you first got in, you were kind of dismissed, you know, people said, maybe he'll be in a flash in the pan. did you think you would dominate the field the way you have? >> not to this extent and not this quickly. really, it's very quick. we're doing so amazingly well. we have such a big lead, i want

to keep the lead. you know, it's a very strong domination. and it's a very, very big lead. i didn't think we would have that. i expected to win. >> you thought you would win the nomination? >> i thought i would win. >> reporr: in fact, we were there with trump for his first foray into iowa more than two years ago when no one believed he would run. >> you have a long time to go. >> could you be taken seriously as a presidential candidate? >> i built a tremendous company with a tremendous net worth. it's what the country should look like. it's a company like this country should look. >> reporter: when we met with him a year later in washington, a trump presidential run still seemed highly unlikely, you're not thinking about running for president, are you? >> i'm going to look at it. i'm going to give it serious consideration. we may surprise you. >> i would be shocked. >> reporter: fast forward to

this summer, ann announcement like a hollywood premiere, including a dramatic entrance by escalator. >> all: we want trump! >> well, you need somebody, because politicians are all talk, no action. nothing's going to get done, they will not bring us, believe me, to the promised land. >> reporter: trump has cast himself as an action hero in an epic battle against career politicians and those deep-pocket donors who pay for access. is that the appeal? politics has gotten all corrupt. >> politics is corrupt and i think people know that and i think that, if it's not corrupt as a definition of corrupt, it's influenced by bad forces. when you look at the deals we make with these countries and with companies and other places and other people, they're not that stupid. they give millions and millions of dollars to candidates. jon, they're making it, because

these candidates are controlled 100% by the people who give them the money. >> reporter: he sometimes cast his own party as an enemy. refusing for a while to rule out running as an independent before pledging allegiance to the gop. he hasn't held back since day one of his campaign. he launched a series of insults first at mexican immigrants, then women, but it was a call for a temporary ban of all muslims that sparked the harshest condemnation. leaders from both parties calling him racist, un-american. >> what was proposed yesterday is not what this party stands for, and more importantly, it's not what this country stands for. >> reporter: president obama did an interview where he said you're exploiting those angers and fears of people who have been left behind by the economy. >> people are angry. they are angry. i'm not tapping into the anger and people have said i'm doing

that, and certainly i'm not doing it intentionally. i know it can be turned around quickly. but if you have another four years, like a hillary, that kind of mentality and thinking, we're not going to have a country left. >> reporter: trump ended the year as he started. drawing fire for using a crude sexual term describing how hillary clinton lost to barack obama. >> she was going to beat barack obama and she got [ bleep ]. she lost. >> reporter: but with each controversy, trump ratings have only gone higher. debate viewership shattering records. rising poll numbers. magazine covers and hosting "snl." >> i don't have to give specifics. with me, it just works. it's magic. >> reporter: campaign misstatements its lie of the year award. saying they couldn't pick just one. but false claims, typically disqualify a nominee, saying thousands celebrated in new jersey on 9/11 haven't made viewers tune out.

>> i don't frankly have time for total political correctness. and to be honest with you, this country doesn't have time, either. >> reporter: and though rivals wrote him just as a summer stunt, have been forced to take him on. often at their own peril. >> this is a tough business. >> you're a tough guy, jeb, i know. >> we need to have a leader. you're never going to be president of the united states by insulting your way to the presidency -- >> i'm at 42% and you're at 3%. >> doesn't matter. >> reporter: the democratic field is now aiming their fire at trump, as they did during last week's new hampshire debate. >> donald trump. >> donald trump. >> bringing donald trump back into it -- >> reporter: trump insists he'll do better against hillary clinton. >> i'm winning, i'm beating everybody. and in my opinion, beating hillary is easier than beating these people. >> reporter: he's maintained a double-digit lead over the gop field in every abc news/"washington post" poll, more than five months on top.

now, senator ted cruz is polling neck and neck with trump in iowa. could the man who thrives being the winner handle a loss in the state that votes first? we asked him about cruz before he headed into his jam-packed rally in michigan. the guy that's giving you the toughest time now is ted cruz and you have given him a pass so far. >> he's not who givesing me a tough time. he's a very nice guy. he's backed me in every position. hear those people. >> reporter: yeah. the biggest question now, can trump turn these supporters into votes in 2016? we'll all be tuning in. we turn now to the man who's positioned himself as the republican antitrump, ohio governor john kasich. no other gop candidate still in the race has been more vocal in criticizing the republican front-runner. governor kasich, thank you for joining us this morning. >> glad to be with you, jon. >> and i want to get right to the news this week that we hear that the obama administration is

considering a plan to increase deportations of illegals, of those that undocumented immigrants here, specifically those who have had run-ins with the law. trump tweeted, "does everyone see the democrats and president obama are now, because of me, starting to deport people who are here illegally. politics!" so, let me ask you, are we seeing a trump effect, even of the obama administration? >> well, you know, i don't know about that, jon, but what we know is, if people violated the law here in this country, everybody that i know say they ought to be deported. in fact, it was my old colleague bill o'reilly who started this movement a long time ago. look, in the very first debate, i said that trump has touched on something, people are afraid they're going to lose their job. if they're 51 years old, they can't find a job. their kids have too much debt. they think the system is a

ripoff. they think the lobbyists control everything. so, i absolutely can understand why people are so worked up, but there's an interesting thing that trump said. he said none of the politicians will get this done. well, let me tell you about our state, i'm the seventh largest state in the country, 11.5 million people, if you want a job you're likely to get one. if you're worried about your wages ours are going up. if you have a son or a daughter that's autistic you can get insurance. what we have done in ohio, is offer specific solutions to problems and we have done it and that's why the people of the state are in such a positive mood. what trump does is, he complains about everything -- and look these attacks on women and on hillary clinton not getting back to the stage on time, the attacks on hispanics and muslims -- it's a top of the story, trump

rising and everything, wait until we start voting and then we're going to know where people are. >> but let me ask you, on this issue of the 11 million undocumented immigrants who are in the united states right now, you now have a situation where not just trump but also ted cruz, the two leading candidates right now in virtually every poll for the republican nomination, both say, that those 11 million undocumented immigrants should be deported. this is something that for years, you and most republican leaders said, what was simply impossible, was wrong-headed, are you -- have you and others out of touch with the grassroots of the party? what's happened? >> listen, jon, look -- well, they don't. look, i have done 45 town hall meetings in new hampshire. i have done more town hall meetings than anybody running for president. i'm surging in the poll. i'm running third in the poll. one point behind second place. really not far behind trump. when the voting starts we're

going to find out. i do town halls. people ask me my plan, i said finish the border, have a guest worker program. for the 11.5 million who are here, if they haven't violated another law when they've been here, they get a path to legalization. i think it's ridiculous we're going to into neighborhoods, grab people out of their homes, split up families and ship them back to mexico. it's not going to happen, jon. so, don't get all -- everybody's all hyped up about these polls. we're going to know in another 30, 40 days. and remember how many people won iowa, only to go on to new hampshire to get blown out. we never heard from them again. i'm very optimistic about new hampshire myself. the party is not for deporting 11.5 million people. i'm sorry, i don't believe it. >> so, i want to ask you a question that you were asked before on this show, we're

getting closer now, i'd like no dodge, direct answer from governor kasich, if donald trump wins the nomination -- >> you're not going to get answer -- >> i'm not going to get answer -- >> you're saying it's possible you won't support him? >> listen, i made a pledge -- i made a pledge and i have been listening to him lately and you notice he's toned down the rhetoric. i listened to your six minute coverage of him, he's toning it down. i hope going forward he'll be a yuan unifier. you can't win the white house without winning ohio. if we have a candidate that comes into ohio that's a divider, no chance they're going to win it. people in ohio want someone who's going to look at problems and solve them. i would agree with trump, they don't want lobbyists telling the elected officials what to do. they never told me in my entire life. i'm not about to begin listening. i will tell you this, there were no problem. whatever your problem is, if

you're working poor you're going to get health care. if you want to see faster economic growth you move to ohio, you know why? because we take everything on with solutions to problems, we just don't pontificate and have a bunch of rhetoric. we're realistic and we're fixing problem. >> okay, so, you mentioned the town hall meetings in new hampshire you did, do you have to win the new hampshire primary? >> i have to do well enough there, jon, so that i'm the story coming out of new hampshire and i think i will be. and i will tell you, if i come out new hampshire, everywhere i go, people say you need more time on the debate stage. people need to hear you. i come out of new hampshire, and you have known me for a long time, i'll catch fire, and if i catch fire i think the sky's the limit. 45 town hall meetings and i'm hoping to get to 100. even if i have to do town halls after the primary.

>> now, it looks like fox business is paring down the next debate. you may not be on the main stage at the next debate. rand paul is the same position. he said he won't participate in one of these undercard debates. where are you on that? will you do it? >> well, i think we'll make the main stage and, like i said, we just had a poll, it's the most accurate all of the polls, because it actually samples a greater number of people. i'm one point out of third place. so, it's all about how they want to pick stuff. i'm hoping we'll be on the stage. but what matters in new hampshire is not so much debates, it's what you have on the ground. and we have the best ground game with john sununu and others. we got people combing the state. that's what wins elections, what you're doing on the ground, coupled with some of what you do

on the television, advertising, and i feel very, very good. in fact i'm heading to new hampshire tomorrow. i'm breaking up my christmas vacation with my family. my wife just had a birthday yesterday. my kids are with me. >> all right, well, happy birthday to your wife, and governor kasich, thank you for joining us. >> yes. and happy new year and god bless everyone who's watching. america is going to be stronger. you count on it. >> all right. governor kasich. let's bring in our powerhouse roundtable. we're joined by matthew dowd, espn senior writer lz granderson. lz and matt co-host the abc digital show "straight talk with matt and lz." must-see viewing. editor of the weekly standard bill kristol and mary bruce. welcome to all of you. we'll be back with all of you in the moment. but first, quick question to you, matt, back in september, around labor day, you predicted

that as it stood there, donald trump would be the republican nominee. what could derail him between now and super tuesday? what could bring him down? >> the only thing that i think that can bring donald trump down is himself. it has to be trump himself. those are the points in time in which donald trump -- he won't be brought down by television ads or speeches by other candidates. donald trump has to bring himself down. we still don't know if he loses iowa, or if he finishes second in iowa, what effect that could have on the totality of the race. donald trump is the only candidate in this race who's constantly risen in the course of this and never dropped off. >> the debate with megyn kelly. >> donald trump rose after the first debate. >> he sure did. we're just getting started. when we come back -- the full panel weighs in with their predictions for 2016, the state of the gop and can the brash

billionaire actually grab the nomination. plus, the future of the democrats, can bernie sanders regain his momentum in the you year? our surprising predictions ahead in just two minutes. >> announcer: "this week" with george stephanopoulos is connected with blackberry prif. . but a few might shape the future. like turning algae into biofuel... ...new technology for capturing co2 emissions... ...and cars twice as efficient as the average car tod. ideas exxonmobil scientists are working on to make energy go further... ...no matter how many tries it takes. energy lives here.

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spoiler alert! she doesn't make it! only mucinex dm relieves both wet and dry coughs for 12 hours with two medicines in one pill. start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this. time for us to elevate this debate from sound bites without solutions and start discussing how we'll make the country better. >> i'm being called to lead by helping to clear the field so that the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive, conservative alternative to the current front-runner. >> we spent a lot of time developing detailed policy papers. clearly, there wasn't a lot of interest in those policy papers. >> the future of the country will be in your hands if the

president of the united states. this is not a game show, this is not a reality show. >> gop governors and senators left by the wayside in donald trump's wake. all taking a parting shot at the republican front-runner. we're back now with the powerhouse roundtable. taking on where the gop stands now and where we're heading in 2016. bill, how is it, why is it that, despite this relent series of attacks on donald trump, nothing stops it -- in fact, the guys who hit him the hardest are gone. >> i think the republican primary voters don't like the media, so trump's words with the media helped trump. they don't like the republican establishment and the congressional leadership. they have really tucked themselves into -- a certain chunk of the republican electorate has talked themselves into disliking. the question is, is that 25% of the republican primary electorate? 35 .?

could it be 45%? >> you have been predicting his demise for months. >> i have, and i'm sticking with it. what's the point of changing now? that's pathetic. if i'm right i can say i'm early. if i'm wrong, i won't get any credit here in late december. no, i think he'll lose iowa. once he loses iowa that's a big moment. so much of trump's appeal depends on his mystique. >> i'm a winner. >> i'm a winner, i'm ignoring the usuals in politics. if there's an actual vote in iowa, and you see it on the screen, if it's cruz 47,000, trump 41,000, i think at that point the sort of -- the mystique is gone. at that point i think he's very vulnerable. >> do you think trump can be a candidate like anyone else? i think the question is, what can happen? if he loses iowa, what's his playbook? he doesn't seem to have one at

the moment. what does he do next? he doesn't seem to be fund-raising a lot. he's not hiring pollsters. what does it look like when he goes past february? >> at trump headquarters, on 5th avenue in trump tower, there's almost nobody there. he has a campaign manager, a press secretary. this a shoestring campaign. a winning campaign so far. >> a shoestring by a billionaire. >> yes. >> i have been really amused watching the republican establishment try to bring it back to some normalcy. back when he was talking about birther, he was challenging obama's grades in college. you didn't hear all this, he's out of line. when he said he was a muslim, you didn't hear the leadership say, muslims are americans -- >> they ignored him. >> they also mbraced the energy that he's been feeding.

now, they can't bring it back down, if because he's inspired this group of people more than the establishment. >> okay, i want to put all you guys on the spot, sorry about this, i want to hear specific predictions on iowa and new hampshire? >> three months from now you'll play a tape back. before i do my prediction, the thing that's driving this election more than anything else, it's not personalities per se, it's the american public and the gop is looking for strength and donald trump portrays that. he's the only candidate right now. so, iowa, i think this race right now, comes down to two candidates right now. it is ted cruz and donald trump. i couldn't tell you who's going to win that race. i side with ted cruz winning it just because of his support among social conservatives. another interesting story is, who will show in that?

who will show in that race? the third finisher in that race could be very important going into new hampshire. >> new hampshire? >> i think donald trump wins new hampshire. >> south carolina? >> and i think donald trump wins south carolina. >> okay. >> i have cruz, trump, trump. >> cruz trump, trump? >> i think cruz wins iowa. one of the governors could win new hampshire, either christie or kasich. i don't believe trump will winnetter of the first two. trump will come back and win south carolina. so, i think a split result which means the race goes a long way. the one thing that i have been wrong about is this notion that the trump bubble will burst. he's in for the long haul. he has more organization than people think. >> certainly in iowa. >> in iowa. in new hampshire. if you go to the headquarters, what you see is what he lets you

see. it's not an amateur campaign. trump is in for the long haul. cruz is in for the long haul. one or two of the three, christie, rubio and kasich. >> i'm going to say trump in iowa. part of the reason why, i was at a trump rally a few weeks ago. i asked a lot of his supporters this question, would you be willing to switch your allegiance to ted cruz? lot of people were almost furious at the notion that cruz would come in and beat trump in the state of new hampshire, i'm going with christie. i think no one can pull off a town hall quite like chris christie. south carolina, cruz. >> if trump wins iowa he runs the table. >> okay, so, when will we know? when it will be clear that we have a presumptive nominee? >> i disagree slightly with bill

on this, this is a national race until we get to iowa. for 30 days it's a state by state race. for state s then it becomes a national race. i think by mid-march, we'll pretty much know who they need. they may not have the delegates they need. somebody is going to win 16 of them. >> i have a hard time believing that anyone is going to overtake trump at this point. i really do. earlier, you said, matthew, you thought that trump could stop himself. it seems as he had been to stop himself for months, saying these really bombastic, highly offensive things -- >> so, when do we know? >> i think we already know. >> one of the interesting things about the polls -- is trump does very well in these national polls. he continues to take off. in actual state polls, early state polls, where they're more focused on the race and voting he's weaker. in iowa, he's behind cruz.

i think as voters get more serious, there's some falloff from trump. he doesn't disappear, he doesn't go away. he has a corps of support. >> this is a hope and a prayer. >> what is wrong with a hope and prayer? >> nothing. >> bill, when does he go down? >> he fights it out through the primary on march 1st and march 15th. >> convention? >> could be. >> i think this will be a nominee in late march. march 15th has ohio and florida, winner take all. they're both very interesting states this year. kasich is from ohio. rubio and bush from florida. if someone could sweep those two states that could be very interesting. >> i think you could have something of a free for all, especially if they split iowa and new hampshire. >> thank you, mary, that's what we want. >> the man to watch is paul ryan. he'll have to be the kingmaker. >> good luck finding brokers.

okay, before we go, a special supreme court puzzler with justice stephen breyer, i had a rare interview with him coming up. right now, here he is with our "p "powhouse puzzler." >> how many supreme court justices in history previously served as supreme court law clerks? all right, back in just two minutes with the answer and later, our powerhouse predictions on the democratic side. later, our powerhouse predictions on the democratic side. ♪

(vo) some call it giving back. we call it share the love. during our share the love event, get a new subaru, and we'll donate $250 to those in need. bringing our total donations to over sixty-five million dollars. and bringing love where it's needed most. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. so, how many supreme court justices previously served as law clerks to another justice? matt and lz? >> i have seven. e know breyer, kagan. >> that's pretty impressive. 112 or 1 or happy kwanzaa. >> yes, too many, that's not

very specific. >> eight. >> here's justice breyer again with the answer. >> the answer is six. there is kagan, there's chief justice john roberts. there is me and also there's byron white, chief justice reinquist. >> much more from breyer ahead. for the first time the supreme court justice weighs in on donald trump's proposed ban on muslims entering the country. stay with us. >> announcer: "this week" with george stephanopoulos brought to you by prudential. unfortunately, i believe country. stay with us. >> announcer: "this week" with george stephanopoulos brought to you by prudential. out to the nation's capital to support an important cause that can change the way you live for years to come. how can you help? by giving a little more, to yourself. i am running for my future. people sometimes forget to help themselves. the cause is retirement, and today thousands of people came to race for retirement and pledge to save an additional one percent of their income.

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we're out of time, the time necessary to mount a winning campaign for the nomination. but while i will not be a candidate, i will not be silent -- i intend to speak out clearly and forcefully to influence as much as i can where we stand as a party and where we need to go as a nation. >> we're back now with the powerhouse roundtable on the current state of the 2016 democratic race and our big predictions for the new year. let me ask you, the big question now is, as we get to home stretch in iowa and new hampshire, bernie sanders, his momentum seems to have stalled a little bit, lz, can he regain that momentum and win in those states? because he has to, right? >> i think it's pretty much a done deal. as i said before the break, it's apparent on the gop side. i think we all know what's going to happen on the democratic side. everyone likes the idea of bernie sanders.

but when you start breaking down what he wants to do and how much it's going to cost, rational democrats and the moveable middle are saying hillary clinton is the bet. >> if this hasn't been the year of trump this would have been -- we would be talking about the year of bernie sanders, what he's done in taking on the establishment and hillary clinton, keep in mind, he's at the same percentage that donald trump has among republicans he has among democrats. i think the only way he cracks this open, and possibly has a path, he has to win iowa and new hampshire and hope the whole race breaks. but it does show -- >> what happens if he does? >> then i think joe biden regrets his decision of not having not run. which i think he should anyway. i think he didn't have to put an organization like everyone thought he should -- >> but biden couldn't jump in. >> no.

i think hillary clinton slogs it out. she becomes more weak in that process, and the only thing that democrats hope for, after that long slog, she wins the nomination after that long slog. i agree with lz, it's highly unlikely, he loses iowa. >> but mary, i mean, he has taken off in a way that none of us had predicted. >> absolutely. if he wins iowa and new hampshire, remember, tradition and history says you have to win one of those. the last time a democrat lost both and went on to win the nomination was a clinton. it's entirely possible that you could see another clinton pull that same thing off. >> could be. the biggest story is how weak hillary clinton is -- >> time-out, what do you mean, how weak she is? >> the republicans as you're happily talking about have this trump fiasco going on. hillary clinton now loses by a point, two or three to marco

rubio, who's a pretty unknown first-term senator, she's tied with ted cruz in the last national poll. she's unbelievably weak -- >> all right, let me show you -- >> she's under water. bernie sanders, i think if he does win, it's an important question that mary raises. bernie can beat her in new hampshire pretty easily, i think. beat her in new hampshire and -- i think it could be a mondale situation. >> let's take a look at the very -- most recent national poll, donald trump versus hillary clinton matchup. take a look at those numbers, lz, this is within the margin of error. right now, cnn poll they are tied. >> and every other republican is stronger than hillary clinton, right, jon? >> first of all, i don't speak for the hillary clinton campaign.

>> in that race you vote no, right? >> right. i think america knows. i think what we're looking at right now is what governor kasich talked about earlier, polls schmolls. someone who supports discrimination and someone who doesn't. believe it or not, that will boil down to a lot of young voters. someone who's a racist and says horrible things about women -- >> the only republican hillary clinton can beat is donald trump. >> no, i think the two weakest republicans that she'll win against are the two leading republican candidates right now, donald trump and ted cruz. she's going to win in those races. one big reason is, there will be a third party gop-type candidate will run, if donald trump or ted cruz is the nominee. >> i used to think cruz couldn't beat clinton.

i'm struck by these polls. >> i want to get to a prediction. let's skip ahead. let's assume that hillary clinton wins the democratic nomination, who is her running mate? >> i think it's going to be a white male that appeal to the working-class voters, somebody from the midwest or from the west. i would put on that list, the governor of colorado, which a key state, or senator brown of ohio which is probably going to be top of the list. she's got to bolster her working-class base. >> okay. lz? >> i'm thinking she's going to wait as long as possible to see where cruz or rubio falls. even though when you understand the hispanic and latino community -- she's either to go castro or kane. >> okay. >> not raul castro.

>> or fidel. he's still around. >> i think sherrod brown of ohio or kane. >> i go castro. he checks off a lot of boxes, young, male. he doesn't have a ton of experience. >> the answer is tim kane. next, a rare interview with a supreme court justice in this landmark year for america's highest court. plus, the powerhouse roundtable on the year of the activists and 2015 seismic shifts from race to same-sex marriage.

following an historic year for the supreme court with landmark decisions upholding same-sex marriage and president obama's health care law, i had a chance to visit the supreme court for a rare interview with stephen breyer. you could say he's the court's true swing vote in the court's most recent term, he voted with the majority 92% of the time. more than any other justice. he told me, while the justices may have their differences, they're not nearly as partisan as people think. >> people think a lot of different things of the country, what is so terrible that nine judges of this court do disagree about a certain number of things? what's good about it, they'll resolve their differences under law despite disagreements. that's the strength of the country. that's called the rule of law. >> doesn't it erode confidence when you see these high-profile cases breaking down 5-4?

along -- >> there are 50% are unanimous. >> yes, but i'm talking about -- >> i know that you only want to talk about the ones, 20%, that are 5-4. more likely reflect differences of philosophical outlook if you'd like rather than differences of politics. politics to me is who's got the vote? are you republican? are you democrat? popular or unpopular? i don't find that here. >> reporter: he's an author of a new book, the court should look beyond our borders as it shapes american law. take his death penalty dissent this year. arguing capital punishment ma be flat-out unconstitutional. you pointed out in those 40 pages that there are only 22 countries that carry out executions in 2013. and only eight countries that did more than ten. one of them is the united

states. why is that relevant what other countries are doing? >> remember the words of the eighth amendment -- it forbids a cruel or unusual punishment. does that word "unusual" mean unusual in the world or in the united states? some people think it means the world, and therefore, it's highly relevant, and others think it's more limited to the united states. >> reporter: among the toughest issues breyer and the court have wrestle with is finding a balance between national security and civil liberties. >> cicero, 2,000 years ago, in time of war, the laws fall silent. no, that was the court's attitude for a long time and that led in world war ii to 70,000 american citizens of japanese origin being removed from their homes and put in camps and this court in 1944

upholding that without any evidence whatsoever. they upheld it, because they're thinking, well, we can't run the war, roosevelt has to. >> this is a case you have written about extensively. d you think this can happen again in the united states? >> i doubt it. >> why? >> this country has developed a stronger traditions of civil liberties? >> what do you think when you hear donald trump come out and say that, you know, proposed a ban on one religious group coming into the united states? >> what do i think when i hear that? i think everyone in the united states has a right to express an opinion. a judge has to do his best not to have an opinion on a political matter like that one is highly political, and if i have an opinion i might talk to my wife about it but i'm not going to talk about it -- i'm

not even going to answer the question if i talk to my wife about it. because there's not answer. >> one more on this, it's interesting, trump in making the case for his ban on muslims coming into the country cites fdr's interment of the japanese? >> that's his affair. >> reporter: appointed by bill clinton in 1994, three justices will be over 80. factor, who's the person nominating my replacement? >> the question you're asking, if this person is president would you not retired if that person you would retire. >> reporter: donald trump, if he's president of the united states, ted cruz president of the united states, you wouldn't decide, you know what, i was thinking about retiring but i'll stick around. >> it's a highly personal decision, but you have to be able to do the job.

i think it's my self-interest to think it. experience does help. >> but i'm asking you -- >> i know you are. >> i know you're asking you a direct question. >> i know you're asking you a direct question. i'm giving you an indirect answer. >> you can see more of my conversation with stephen breyer at abcnews.com/"this week." the powerhouse roundtable is back with me now. this has been the year of the activist or the year of the movement. whether it's trump or bernie sanders or the prom innocent group black lives matter. lz, what is your sense on the impact that black lives matter has had and where are they going? >> i'm glad you went to the black person first, it's very important to do that. here's the thing -- the important thing about black lives matter is it got white people to pay attention. what i mean by that is, you have all known that racism was still out there in theory.

now you have video to se eit operating in practice. what i saw in ferguson versus staten island with eric grand, and over the last few weeks in chicago with laquan mcdonald, when you have something on video it becomes more undeniable. and black lives matter has helped position through social media these images for wider america. this has been happening to us for decades and i'm glad to see in 2015, into 2016, more people having these conversation. >> and lz, really good point. there's been movements throughout american history. they pop up. but i think what's been added is a change in technology, allowing anybody to record anything at any time, and so no longer can police cover for each other or courts cover for each other. it's basically a confrontation now that a movement uses to express what they want changed. >> bill?

>> look, i think if the message of black lives matter -- many more african-americans are killed by routine crime and unfortunately police -- tough policing has saved a lot of black lives over the last 20 years. rudy giuliani and mike bloomberg and bratton and ray kelly have dropped the murder rate in new york from 2,000 a year to 200 a year and many of those victims were black. the effect in the role world of black lives matters is lessen tough policing that will be bad for blacks. >> race relations will continue to be a big issue in the election and the campaign. part of the reason is not just the continued use of the technology. but consider baltimore, i covered those riots in baltimore, you have five more cases. they're spread out. the tension in that city hasn't been addressed. you can see that boil over once again.

>> very quick, last word. >> i have to say, always going back to black on black crime pretty much what you're saying, it's the fact of white people do when they want to face reality. the fact of the matter is, is that no one in the black community are saying police are the sole problem. part of the problem that's beenic mothered. when we get back, i'll introduce you to tommy jones, a homeless veteran on the streets

in our "sunday spotlight" this morning, a look at a fight to end homeless veterans. despite a dramatic decline, ther are still more than 47,000 veterans living on the streets this holiday season. i met up with one of those vets. >> this is my tent. the leaves and stuff were falling off, so i put these trees in front of -- >> this has been home? >> yes, right here. >> reporter: tony jones knows a thing or two about camouflaging a tent, he learned it in army. >> basic training, that's how i learned how to do the trenching around the tent? >> reporter: stuff you learned in the army. ever think you would end up like this, homeless? >> no, not in a million years. >> reporter: tony lives in this small patch of wilderness in southeast washington, just a few miles from the white house. for the past six years he's been homeless. >> oh, i have been looking for this. >> what's that?

>> poetry i write. >> i didn't know you're a poet. >> i didn't know i was a poet, either. >> this is your handwriting here? >> yes. >> can you read a couple of lines? >> i am not alone but yet i am lonely for my other half and it is not near or by me for i am the lonely one. >> reporter: he served in the army for two years. today, his most prized possessions are his books. >> i like dean koontz, stephen king and i like sandra brown. >> reporter: but he cherishes one book above all -- >> this is my mom's bible here. the only thing i wanted when she died was her bible. >> but she didn't know you were homeless? >> nobody knows. >> why didn't you tell her? >> i didn't want sympathy from nobody. i'm a grown man, i can take care of myself. >> reporter: he finds

inspiration from one verse in particular. >> for a living dog is better than a dead lion. >> what does it mean? >> the dog is still living. the lion ain't got nothing going on. you know, some time i felt like giving up some time. be so miserable and cold. i feel like everything's going against me. but i think about that scripture all the time. it pulled me right out of there. >> there are too many homeless veterans. >> there are so many of us. >> why are there so many homeless veterans even now? >> my case was, i was too scared to ask for help. i was embarrassed about it. i didn't know who i was going to help for ask. >> reporter: emily, a caseworker with miriam's kitchen, an organization dedicated to ending homelessness in washington d.c.,

she helped jones apply for a voucher which will pay for his rent. >> housing comes first. once someone gets a roof over their head, other things fall into place easier. >> it's like moving from a dungeon to a castle, i'm not lying. there it is. >> reporter: for the first time in years, tony walks into his home through a door. >> please come in my castle. >> tony can now take a shower and put on a suit so he can go to a job interview. sleeping in a tent that's a lot harder to do. >> i can't express in words how i feel right now. i feel great. i feel good. i feel like james brown, "i feel good." >> i love tony jones. you can see more of my conversation with him at abcnews.com/thisweek. thank you for sharing part of your sunday with us today and all year long. 2016 will be a wild ride. we're excited to be here with

you every step of the way. and before we go, on behalf of george, martha and our entire abc new on-air team, another big thank you to everyone here behind the scenes who bring you "this week" every week. we leave you a performance. from the united states army band, pershing's own. have a happy and healthy think year. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for i its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] welcome to "defense newews." i'm vago muradian. i hope everyone e had a very mey christmas. u.s. army reserve is a force ofof just under 2 200,000 -- ths a crititicalart of the service's were fighting team. the civilil division, affas, psychological, transpsportation units, lolodges ations, medical personnel. during thears iraq and ghanistan, the ay personnel